Hits & Misses: Trading Santana, More On Bourn, A Little On Collins

The top story for the Mets continues to be Michael Bourn – will he sign or won’t he? Will MLB protect the pick or won’t they. There are good arguments to be made on both sides, but the bottom line is that ultimately Bourn will go wherever he wants to play, be it the Mets, the Indians or any other team that may be in the mix. Sometimes players want to play in a particular region of the country and it isn’t always about the money.

One thing that has become clear to me is that if Bourn does sign with the Mets the front office will be overpaying him to sign on the dotted line. It’s a risk the team is willing to take given the sad state of affairs in the current outfield and the fact that the minors holds little promise to remedy the situation in the next two years. It may have been prudent to have taken a more aggressive approach to the outfield dilemma as soon as the offseason began rather than waiting so long to make a move or show any interest in fixing the situation. But that’s all water under the bridge now and the fact remains the the current outfield hasn’t even one player with a full season of experience under his belt. I can’t say I ever recall a similar situation in the history of the franchise.

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Terry Collins is not worried about his contract status, and he doesn’t believe it will be an issue this season, he told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post.

“I don’t want anything to take away from what we’re trying to do,” Collins said.

Collins is a good and decent person and I know he won’t make this an issue, but I don’t know anybody who isn’t always concerned about their job – especially when there’s an October 30th expiration date stamped on it.

It may not be a big concern for Terry now with spring training approaching, but I’m sure the psychological toll will present itself if the team doesn’t get off to a great start. Once you start hearing the cries that “the players have given up on Terry,” watch and see how quickly this issue will come to the forefront. That’s just the way it works in baseball. The general manager is charged with what you see on the field, but no matter how poorly the team is constructed, when they start to play bad the blame always goes to the manager first. All the best this season, Terry.

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I keep getting one or two emails every week asking me whether the Mets will trade Johan Santana. It’s not as easy as you may think. For one, he’s owed $31 million in total by the Mets. Even if the Mets were to eat half of that, which they will be very reluctant to to do, the other team still takes on huge amounts of cash and risk.

With the new CBA the new team won’t get any draft pick compensation whether they make Santana a qualifying offer or not. Additionally, there’s the matter of Santana’s no-trade clause. Oh sure, Johan could accept a trade, but he could very well insist that the 2014 option for $25 million be guaranteed like some other players have done under similar circumstances. So that’s another potential stumbling block to a potential trade.

Then of course there is the matter of the return. What if you were to find a team that would take on half of that contract and the possibly of that gigantic option year as well?

The most you would probably get is a K-Rod-like return or in other words two fringe or marginal prospects.

And all of this is assuming that Johan Santana is 100% healthy and pitching effectively by the deadline. I emailed the Mets about his health on Monday and I’ve yet to receive a response.

I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73, '00 and '15, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction and interact with other passionate Met fans like you. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.